The purpose of the present invention is to provide protection against out-of control vehicles for people congregating near moving vehicles. Typical locations where the invention would be useful include bus stops and outdoor dining areas situated near roadways or parking lots. Although outdoor dining areas have existed for some time, the advent of indoor smoking prohibitions have caused many bars, restaurants and like establishments to establish or expand outdoor dining areas. Due to property constraints many of these outdoor dining areas have been placed adjacent to roadways or parking lots where vehicle traffic is prevalent.
Likewise, both for convenience and land constraints bus stops are typically placed adjacent to roadways where vehicular traffic occurs. It is very common that sidewalks are often poured right up to the curb, leaving scant feet between traffic and pedestrians to begin with. Bus stops and the accompanying benches and waiting areas, are often anchored to the sidewalk just a few feet from the curb. Some communities recognizing the danger have passed legislation allowing public easements that oftentimes allow shelters to be placed behind the sidewalk. Although of some benefit, these measures at best place a few additional feet between the waiting people and an out-of-control vehicle. Some communities have attempted to locate bus stops behind utility poles that could act as barriers. Other communities have installed or considered installing bollards—concrete posts—around the bus shelters. Using utility poles of course is subject to a utility pole being conveniently located and relies largely on luck that an out-of-control vehicle would come from a direction and in a manner such that it would hit the pole rather than the people at the bus stop. At best, the use of utility poles would provide protection only in some accidents. The inventors recognized that an additional problem with respect to utility poles, concrete bollards and other methods is that although a vehicle hitting such barriers may be stopped, the impact oftentimes allows for portions of the vehicle to intrude into the area to be protected by the bollards or utility poles and/or sends pieces of the concrete bollards, the utility pole or the vehicle and fluids from the vehicle into the people the barrier is meant to protect.
The present invention addresses these needs and many objects and advantages derived from the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this specification. Although the above background has emphasized the invention's use with respect to outdoor dining areas and bus stops, the invention is certainly not limited to the uses or locations described. Rather, the invention could be used wherever protection of people near moving vehicles is desired.